Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Lions Supermarket

.
Regular readers know I love to cook, and part of that is discovering new sources of food. When we used to live here in the bay area, several times a year we would visit an Asian supermarket over in San Jose, named Lions.

Today we had errands to run and decided to visit again.

What a great store, we had almost forgotten what an adventure shopping can be.

I love the incredible variety of fruits and vegetables. I asked the manager if he would mind if I took pictures, and he said it was fine with him.

So come along
on a visit through Lions Supermarket.

Have you ever seen these?
They're called Jackfruit,
they're the largest tree fruit
in the world.


Here's what they look like inside.


These are fingerling bananas,
we'd never seen them before.


I'm including this shot,
not just for the Baby Bok Choy,
but it also gives you an idea of the market.


These are called Fragrant Pears.
They have such a lovely aroma,
we had to buy a few.
We haven't eaten them yet,
but we're looking forward to them.


I've never seen beans this long before!
I guess that's why
they're called longbeans . . .


These are called Sin Qua.
I looked online,
but couldn't find any information.
Anyone have any idea what these are?


Another mystery,
but I love the presentation.


We're especially fond of sesame seeds,
so we picked up some of this.


They also have an astounding variety
of fresh seafood.


If we had been closer to home,
I would have bought some
of this beautiful tuna.
The fish here is amazing,
fresh and bright,
no fishy odors at all.


I love perusing the aisles,
everything is so bright
and exotic.


The candy comes in the greatest containers.
These were about ten inches tall.


After we ran all our errands in San Jose, we stopped by the auction (which is once again filling up fast). Is this the coolest slot machine you've ever seen?


Here's a closeup of the payout window.


So do you think I'll ever have anything more interesting than a visit to the grocery store to post about?

I know we had a great time, and while it's true that I'm pretty easily amused, I'm never sure if I should even bother with these kinds of topics. Still, that’s what's going on in our lives, so that's all there is to write about!


14 comments:

Jimbo said...

I love these kinds of posts.

Thanks,

Jim

Jerry and Suzy said...

You go ahead and write about what interests you; it's sure to interest others, with your enthusiasm. It sure worked this time -- we'd love to visit that place also! I wonder if those little things in the net bags might be lichees?

Donna K said...

GREAT post. What a fun market...love the baby Bok Choy and those fingerling bananas look like the kind my sister had on a tree (bush?) when she lived in Hawaii. VERY sweet and yummy. Now don't you go buying any of that candy...I think you might like to keep the containers LOL! Glad you had a fun day.

meowmomma said...

That was very interesting to me!! The first mystery~at home we have asian cucumbers that are always wrapped in plastice, but straight; maybe? And the bagged mystery~maybe cumquats? That was the first thought I had, although I've never even seen them! lol

Love love those candy containers!!! Wish I could get some for my grandbabies!!!


Keep reporting!!

Carol K said...

Of course you should blog about this--you provided a fascinating look at the Asian store and amazed me with some pictures of things I didn't know existed, such as the large fruit.

Sue Malone said...

I loved this as well. It's nice they let you take photos inside of all the amazing fruits. sometimes when I am in shops the owners get all squirrelly about me taking photos. Seems as though it would be good advertising for them. Love the photos, Kate.

Deborah said...

Oooooh, I love poking around in a grocery store that has weird foods. I can spend hours reading labels. I know, it's sort of a sickness, but I like it! I do feel really good when I buy foods that were grown locally, no matter where I am.

Jonna said...

If we ever get you guys to come down and visit us, I will show you jackfruit growing on the tree, it's quite a beautiful tree. Also the small bananas, the yellow are growing in our yard but you can also get the small red ones. Oh and rambutan, the fruit in the cans, grows near here as well. Plus, lots of other different tropical fruits, caimito are in season now and the mangos are just beginning.

I think the bags of yellow fruit are guayaba. They are delicious with a red juicy interior.

Jessica Riker said...

That grocery store looks like a very unique experience!! :) I loved all your pictures of the different displays.

Merikay said...

I'd like to know more about the auction. Have you done a post about it?

I love the Lion also, but sometimes feel confused because I can't read the labels!

Big Matt said...

Those long green things look a little like English cucs, but without a close up, can't be certain.

There's a large asian grocery chain up north here called Uwajimaya (Based out of Seattle, you've got visit the main store/headquarters if you ever get a chance).

Kate said...

MeriKay,

There are a couple of posts specifically having to do with the auction (Jan 19, 22) and if you look at the bottom of my entries, and click on "clearing the house", most of those have to do with the auction, in one way or another. Feel free to email me if you have specific questions. It's been working out well for us.

Kate
http://cholulared.blogspot.com

Delta Mike said...

We already know you are a flake Kate, so post on whatever suits you.

Sure wish we had the market here.

Still homebound and probably will be for the year.

It suxs.

Russ Krecklow said...

Kate, don't ever think that your posts are not interesting to people. You have a knack for taking interesting and colorful photos and weaving them into an interesting and colorful story! Your life has meaning and there are a lot of your friends out here that have been touched in a meaningful way by you and Terry. Thanks so much for sharing. Thanks for being you!!